The Power Within
by Akairaa
Summary: Alex Russo lives a life filled with abuse and negligence and is only getting by with the help of Max. What happens when Justin, her not so nice older bother finds out about her extensive knowledge in magic when it was forbidden? Chaos. M for later chaptrs
1. Good Morning! Not

**So Alex and Max live in a household where Justin is idolized. Everything revolves around him. But what happens when he finds out his chance at the Russo family magic is jeopardized?**

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**Alex's POV**

I let out a groan as my alarm clock broke through my painful sleep. _No, please just five more minutes, please? _I thought hopefully. But I thought better of it when I thought of what would happen to me if I overslept or let my alarm clock run. I reluctantly threw my covers off of me, sat up in bed, and took in my bleak surroundings.

My room was pretty barren. A thin blue carpet covered my floor with only a bed, a desk, and chair resting upon it. My room had all but one window with a sad excuse of a curtain blocking out the city lights. I got up and walked over to the closet, knocking a piece of pealing wallpaper off in the process. I let out a small sigh. _I really need to get this fixed. _

I scoffed. _Yeah, like that'll ever happen. I don't have the money and neither Dad nor Mom would ever give me the money. _I scoured through my minuscule closet and settled for black leggings, a red and cream tie-dye dress that came to just above my knees, and a red shirt under that and headed down stairs.

I threw my backpack over by the door and went to the stove to start breakfast for my _dear_ parents along with their eldest whom I all love _deeply._ I chuckled at my own sarcasm. Sad, I know, but what else are you supposed to do at 6:00 am? I started at the sound of footsteps coming down our metal staircase.

"Alex?" I heard a sleepy and tired Max ask. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, Max?" I answered him worriedly, fearing he had had an early morning run-in with one of our parents. They weren't good people, but they were even worse morning people.

"Just making sure it was you. Do you need any help?" he asked.

"Sure," I said, enjoying the company. "What do you think we should make?" I asked, undecided.

"Well, I suggest," he said thinking for a moment, "that we make Justin's favorite. Mom and Dad would want him to be happiest."

My face darkened at the mention of my older brother's name. For some unknown reason to me, my parents decided to idolize their eldest child. One would think it was because he was their first-born, but I knew that wasn't it. He wasn't their favorite in the beginning... I still remembered that night like it was yesterday.

_CLANG!_

Uh-oh, _I thought, _Dad's gonna be so mad at me!_ I looked around me to see Mom's favorite vase lying in pieces all over the floor._

_ "Alex!" Dad yelled shocked, "Don't move, you might cut your feet!" He made his way over to me and picked me up and placed me on the couch. I watched, feeling guilty, as he cleaned up the debris of my accident. He came over and sat in front of me._

_ "Alex, I want you tell me the truth, did you use magic to break that lamp?" he asked in a deadly calm voice. I stared into his eyes not being able to look away. I had to come with a believable lie and fast. I had never lied to him before. He didn't like when you lied, that's when he got physical. He didn't like to do it, I could tell, but absolutely despised lying. I had seen Justin do it a few times. He only got a slap on the face, but I could tell it hurt. I went with the first lie my seven-year-old brain could come up with._

_ "No, I was rushing over here to turn on my favorite T.V. show. I ran a little to fast and bumped into the shelf," I liked easily. Of course that wasn't what really happened. The truth was I was practicing magic, without my Dad's consent, of course. But that was worse than lying. He hated the misuse of magic, or magic he didn't know about._

_ "Show me the show," he said, nit completely trusting me. I got up and turned on the television. I turned on the first channel I could think of, Nickelodeon. I hoped to God that there was something new on. I guess God wasn't listening that day. He had seen this episode of Sponge Bob one too many times. I new I was in trouble. He kneeled in front of me again._

_ "Alex, you lied to me," he told me, looking right into my eyes. Tears started forming in my eyes._

_ "I'm sorry Daddy, I didn't mean to," I sobbed. But it was too late; I had to be punished. The slap came as a surprise to me, it was light, but it still shocked me into silence. I had seen him do this with my older brother. But it was normally followed by a stern, "Don't do it again!" and then he stopped. I could always tell he didn't like doing it, but thought it was necessary. But this time it was different, this time it seemed like he _enjoyed_ it. He _liked_ seeing me in pain. Each slap was followed by another more painful slap. Soon I was on the floor crying out with each kick to the stomach. He was careful though. He made sure to kick me hard, but not hard enough to cause me any real damage. I had a cut above my eyebrow from his fist that was bleeding onto the carpet. _

_ I guess Justin had heard me crying and had come down stairs from his room._

_ "Dad!" he screamed and took a step closer. Dad gave him a murderous look. Justin looked from me, back to dad, back to me again. I guess he thought that could easily be him on the floor._

_ "Nothing," he said, "Its just, she's bleeding on the carpet, what if someone walked in hear and asked about the blood stains?" I stared at him, my eyes filled with pain and betrayal. _How could he say that? _I thought dimly through the pain._

_ "Excellent point, son," Dad mumbled and left the room. Justin ran over to me as soon as he left._

_ "Alex," he started as he reached down to touch my shoulder, but I cut him off._

_ "Don't touch me." I said quietly. He sat there, shocked. When he didn't move I figured he hadn't gotten the message. "Get away from me!" I screamed as I started to stand up. I could tell he wanted to help me but was scared I would lash out again. I slowly struggled into a standing position, ignoring the tremendous pain I was in._

_ "Alex," he started again, but I wouldn't let him finish._

_ "Shut up!" I said, "I don't want to talk to you." And with that I slowly headed to the upstairs bathroom, but now before I saw a tear sliding down his cheek. But I didn't care, he hurt me in a way that he could never make amends to._

_ I reached the bathroom door and entered, closing it behind me and locking it. I slid down the wall farthest from the door and started bawling my eyes out. After that day my life became a living Hell._

"Alex," pulled me out of my reminiscence of the past.

"Huh, what?" I said, turning to look at Max. He looked at me, concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay? I said your name like three times..." he trailed off, continuing to search for Justin's favorite things in the cupboard.

"Yeah, I was just thinking," I replied, turning on the burners and breaking eggs into a pan. They were having omelets this morning.

"About what?" he pushed, handing me cheese and green pepper in the process. I let out a huge sigh.

"Nothing, Max, nothing." He nodded and went to sit on the couch while I finished the omelets; he had gotten his answer. It was either the unmentionable subject or I was thinking about the day this all started for me. He knew it was better to leave me alone when I was thinking about either.

Just as I was flipping the omelets I heard heavy footsteps coming from up stairs. I jumped a little as I heard someone who sounded a lot like Dad stumble on something and fall into the wall. I just hoped it wasn't my fault. It was almost nearly always "my fault" along with Max. I could tell Max was thinking the same thing because he came over to stand next to me. Whatever it was, we always found it best for us to be together, sometimes, the other could calm down the parent doing harm, if you're lucky.

"Alex, do you want me to take over the omelets while you set the table?" asked Max, making a grab for the spatula and pan.

"Sure." I checked the time again. _Six thirty,_ I thought, _perfect timing._ I went to the cupboard and got out three plates along with three glasses and spread them out on the table.

"Max!" was heard from the top of the stairs. I exchanged a look with Max. I made to ask him a question but then I saw my father lumbering down the stairs. He was still a little groggy from sleep. I was surprised he was up this early; he normally didn't wake up until we left for school.

"Yes, Dad?" Max answered, not looking into his eyes.

"Max, don't look so afraid, I'm not going to hurt you. I was just wondering if you were awake," he said in mock sweetness. I scoffed at that. Max's fear was not an irrational one; he had plenty to fear. At the sound of my laughter dad turned his head around to stare at me.

"What do you think your smiling about?" he asked me as he sauntered over to where I stood. I stared right back into his cold eyes. I tried to hide the fact that my whole body was shaking like a leaf, but of course he noticed. He gave me an evil smile.

"You're pathetic," he told me through a laugh. I looked away from him. He told me things like this everyday, as well as to Max, but it still made feel like I was worthless.

"Go, eat before you have to go to school. You too Max!" he shouted to Max who was watching intently. I went over to the cabinet and got out two cereal bowls and Fruit Loops.

"Are you okay, Alex?" he whispered to me.

"Yeah," I assured him. Truthfully, I was not okay. I was never _okay_. Living in a house with two parents that hate you and take out their aggression on you wasn't easy. I hated living here and couldn't wait to get out of the house. My one true fear was that I would never escape this place; that I would live my life out serving my parents until they died. I don't know what I would do if that happened. Max and I sat down at the island and ate our breakfast.

"Good morning, Dad!" greeted Justin. I gave him a death glare, as did Max.

"Hello, Son," returned Dad. Justin sat down at the table and grabbed an omelet that _I_ made.

"Thanks, Alex; they're really good," he said, toasting the thanks with a piece of speared omelet. I made an evil face at him, which kind of made him embarrassed. He's told me numerous times that the doesn't agree with our parents' actions. But that doesn't change the fact that my father does unspeakable things to me and puts me through Hell everyday. He's a coward for being a bystander in this whole situation, and for that, I'll never forgive him.

I placed my dish in the sink and waited patiently by the table until I was allowed to ask a question. After Dad finished chewing he decided to acknowledge my presence. He turned towards me expectantly.

"May I go to school early?" I asked, a little nervous. "My teachers asked me to show up early." Of course I was making it up, I just wanted to get out of his presence.

"Sure, go ahead," he said, giving me a not so nice smile. Relief flooded over me. "I'll just have Max do the dishes." I gave a sympathetic glance to Max then made to leave.

"Wait!" Dad said, "Justin will go with you. Wouldn't want you running off would I?" I glared at him then said to Justin, "Fine, common on Justin." he got up and followed me out.

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**AN.**

**Okay, this was my first fanfic ever so tell me what you think! Remember, more reviews means I will update faster. But I do have school so... Anyway, R&R!**


	2. Art Class

**So this is the second chapter. If you don't like graphic content then I suggest you don't read the italicized content for it is rated M. So this is not as good as the later chapters but I hope you enjoy it anyway! And I sadly do not own Wizards of Waverly Place or it's characters.**

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**Alex's POV**

We were about three blocks away from school when Justin got up the nerve to say something to me.

"Alex," he said. He turned his head to look at me.

"What," I said through gritted teeth; I refused to make eye contact with him. I could see him flinch at my tone, but I didn't give a damn about his feelings.

"A-are you okay?" he asked tentatively. I laughed a little at that. Was I okay? What a ridiculous notion. Of course I wasn't okay. But he wouldn't understand that. Not when his life is perfect. He never has to do a damn thing, just sit there and look pretty.

"No, Justin I'm not okay, thanks for your concern," I told him flippantly. I knew something was bugging him but I couldn't tell what.

"Alex, look; I'm really sorry about your home situation, but you don't have to take it out on me," he said, a little angry. I gave him an incredulous look. How dare he say not to take it out on him when it was entirely his fault!

"Whatever, Justin," I said starting to walk off. I turned to face him again. "By the way, Justin; if you're trying to build a "healthy" relationship me, this is not they way to do it." And with that I stormed into the school.

**Justin's POV**

"Whatever, Justin," she said, starting to walk off. She stopped to face me once again. "By the way, Justin?" she said, "If this is your way to build a "healthy relationship" with me, this is not the way to do it." And with that she stormed into school. I felt bad for her. I really truly did. She should know that! If I didn't, I'd join in on the abuse, wouldn't I? I didn't like seeing her and Max beaten on all the time. It's not my fault that Mom and Dad chose to idolize me! Sure I didn't stand up for her that _first_ time, but I was 9! What did I know? _You knew enough to know what to say so you wouldn't get hurt!_ But, but, I was young! I didn't think it would get so bad. _Yes, you did! You knew it would get worse, you saw the look on his face. _Fine, maybe I did, but I helped her right? _And now you've let the situation get way out of hand. This is all your fault!_

"Shut up!" I shouted. I didn't realize I had said it out loud until I looked up to see people starring at me like I was crazy. I quickly walked inside.

**Alex's POV**

I stormed inside, furious at Justin. He didn't know the _half_ of what our father did to me and it's all Justin's fault. Ever since that day, Justin hasn't done a thing to help me. I don't think that he would be able to do much to help me, but the fact that the thought to help me has never even crossed his mind, _that _hurts. He's my older brother, he's supposed to protect me, keep me from getting hurt. _But you know deep down that he would just get hurt too if he tried to help you._ But the thought hasn't even crossed his mind to help! _You don't know that for certain. He could feel horrible about what you and Max go through everyday._ I do know that, he would rather have his perfect little life built around everyone making sure he succeeded. If he truly cared, he would do something, no matter the cost.

By the time I reached my locker, tears were cascading down my face, waterfall fashion. I opened my locker and let my head rest inside, letting the cold envelop around me.

"What's this I see?" I heard a mocking voice say. I turned to see Gigi giving me one of her famous smiles. "Alex Russo crying? Isn't that a sight to see," she said, giving me a tinkling laugh.

"Shut up, Gigi," I muttered, turning back to get my books. I did _not_ want to deal with her bitchiness today. I didn't think I had it in me.

"What's wrong Alex; home life not so great? Boy troubles? What's the deal, Alex?" inquired one of her copycats. I ignored them, just like I had my entire life. I went to push by her but they stopped me.

"Oh, common, where you going; to run away and cry in a corner? You are such a loser, Alex," mocked Gigi.

"Shut up! You don't know the first thing about me!" I yelled right in Gigi's flawless little face. I practically ran down the hallway to my first class of the day.

"I know enough to know that you will be a loser for life," I heard Gigi say after me in her superior tone. I hated her with a passion. Why does she have to be a bitch to everyone? _Whatever,_ I thought. _Just get to your next class and forget about her._ Luckily I had art next period, my absolute favorite class.

"Hey, Harper," I greeted. I sat down beside my best friend. We had met back when we were little and instantly became friends. She was the only person I had ever opened up to; she knew everything about me except for one thing. She had never been over my house even though she had asked numerous times. I had always made up excuses for her not to come. I did not want to find out what would happen if my parents knew I had a life outside of home. Harper looked at me with concern.

"Alex, are you okay?" she asked. There had been countless times that I had almost spilled everything to Harper. But, every time I was about to do it, I chickened out.

"Yeah, I said," giving her the most convincing smile I could. I could tell she was about to say more but the teacher cut her off.

"Silent!" said Mrs. Wheimer. Although she was the meanest teacher in the lot, she was my favorite. She took her job seriously and rewarded those who actually deserved it, not those who kissed ass. Most teachers fall for Gigi and her posse's façade, but not Mrs. Wheimer.

"Alright! Go!" she shouted to the class, making us all jump. I quickly got up and went with Harper over to the easels where our art was waiting for us. I went over to mine, which was located right next to Harper's. Mine was already done. It was a very dark painting, one of my best though. It was of a girl standing in a dark hallway standing alone and afraid. Smoke swirled around the hallway floor. At the end of the hallway stood a man who looked a lot like my dad. He had red eyes and claws on the end of his hands. This may seem a little overkill to an outsider, but if you'd been through what I'd been through, you'd understand. He was facing me with an evil look in his eyes.

_"Come here, my gorgeous little girl," said my Dad. I looked at him. His eyes were glazed over with lust. He walked slowly down the hallway, getting closer to me with every step._

_ "Dad, please don't do this, not tonight," I begged him. I didn't want to do this tonight. Hell, I never wanted to do it, but I never had a say in it. He did what he wanted with me then left. But tonight I just wanted to have a peaceful sleep, not one filled with pain and nightmares._

_ "Oh, common sweetie. You know you like it," he said, wrapping me in a hug. I hated his touch, I hated everything about the man I call Father. _

_ "Dad, please," I said, struggling to get out of his grasp. "Just let me go, please," I begged to no avail. I tried struggling harder, but his grip just tightened, crushing me in the process._

_ "Shut up, it will just be worse the more you struggle," he growled. I immediately stopped struggling. "Common," he said, pulling me towards my bedroom. I tried to resist but stopped when he tugged me so hard I almost did a face plant. He pulled me out of my stumble and shoved me into my room. I recovered and turned around in time to see him close the door on me, smothering the small flame of hope that I'd escape. He sauntered towards me and caressed my cheek. _

_ "You have grown into such a beautiful young woman," he said._

_ "Please, Daddy," I whimpered, tears falling freely. Of course this wasn't the first time this has happened. Its happened many times before, so I should be used to it, but I could never get used to it no matter how hard I tried._

_ "I don't feel like any foreplay tonight," he said, pushing me onto the bed, "So let's just get to it," He gave me a sadistic smile. He loved when I was scared or in pain. It's almost like he got a high from it. He climbed on my bed and straddled me. I struggled under him._

_ "Stop it!" he told me, pinning my hands above my head. Once again, I stopped struggling, becoming limp. He smiled at me. "Good girl, now I'm going to get off of you. If you move, you will suffer." He slowly got off of me. I heard him undoing his pants but I didn't dare look at him, he didn't like that. I then felt his hands rushing with my belt buckle. I let out a small whimper and was rewarded with a slap to the face. As soon as he was finished with the buckle, he whipped my pants off of me, quickly followed by my underwear. He climbed back on top of me. I felt him against me and shuddered. He disgusted me, every aspect of him._

_ "Now," he said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "you will be a good little girl for your Daddy and not make a sound." I grudgingly complied. Most of you may think me stupid or idiotic for doing so, but I just wanted this to be over as soon as possible. And doing what he said was the easiest way to make it happen. When he got hard enough to enter, he did. He shoved himself into me with such force that it slammed my bed against the wall. I let out a cry in pain. For that, he slammed into me harder and harder, running his hands up and down my body. I tried to keep quiet, I really did, but I couldn't help it. The pain was just too much. By the time he was done I was sobbing uncontrollably. He pulled out of me and walked out of my room with a smile on his face while I cried myself to sleep._

"Alex?" Mrs. Wheimer asked. "Alex?"

"Yes?" I responded coming out of my reminiscence of my painful past. I looked over to her and gave her a fake smile.

"I was just complementing you artwork. It's a work of art!" she stated mater-of-factly. I looked away; I didn't want it to be considered beautiful. It was an ugly piece of shit.

"Thanks," I said.

"You know what?" she said talking to me. "I think I'm going to show the rest of the class. They need a good example of art to follow. Especially that one over there," she whispered conspiratorially, pointing to Harper's painting. I let out a small snicker, it was hard not to. Harper had painted a canvas full of feline figures prowling around. She grabbed for my painting, but I grabbed it before she could even touch it.

"Alex…" she said making another grab for it. I pulled it away further from her.

"Please, Mrs. Wheimer," I pleaded. "It's personal, I really don't want anyone else to see it." She gave me an odd look but relented and went to look at other students' art.

_That was close,_ I thought. _Maybe I shouldn't paint my inner turmoil in school anymore._ I carefully placed the painting back on the easel and covered it with a sheet.

Thankfully the bell chose that moment to ring, signaling the end of the period.

"Alright, class!" we all heard Mrs. Wheimer shout, "Leave your paintings where they are. They will be graded by next class." I grabbed my things and headed out the door with Harper hot on my heels.

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**So did you like it? Sorry it took a little while to upload and I will try to upload more promptly in the future if people like it. So remeber, reviews get updates faster!**


	3. Insanity

**Ok, so this isn't one of my favorite stories, but I hope you all enjoy it! In this chapter we get some insight on the relationships. Read enjoy!**

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"Listen, Alex," started Harper, "I know your not one to talk about your feelings, but if you do ever need to talk, you can talk to me," she finished, giving me a friendly smile. I could tell she was a little nervous putting that out here, hence the repetitiveness, but I was still thankful to have a friend like Harper. She was one of the only good things in my fucked up life.

"Thanks for your concern Harper," I said, starting to get excited, "but everything's fine! Common!" I grabbed her hand and jumped up and down a bit, "lets go to the cafeteria because it's time!" I said the "it's time" in the voice all the creepy children do in the horror movies, the one that always freaks Harper out.

"I told you to stop doing that!" she said, playfully punching my shoulder. But a quick look at me and my disappointment led to her relenting with an, "Ugh, fine, if it will make you feel better." I smiled and started leading her down the hallway.

"It will!" I replied.

"But don't think this conversation is over!" she warned. I gave her a face and dragged her towards the cafeteria where all my soon to be victims were enjoying their lunch. _Not for long!_ I thought gleefully. I loved pulling pranks. It always cheered me up when I was down. I dunno, I guess it made me feel better to know that I wasn't the only one suffering. It's one of the reasons why I wasn't always one of the nicest people in my school. I know it's fucked up, but truthfully, I'm fucked up. I guess you could thank my dear dad for that. But I'm not the cold, heartless person most people make me out to be either, I _do_ have a soft side, even if you have to do a little digging to find it.

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Once we were properly positioned at the back of the cafeteria, partially hidden by a wall, I pulled out my wand. Of course Harper had known about magic for a while now, there was no way I could have a friendship with someone if they didn't know. That's one of the reasons why Harper is my only true friend. She knows everything about me, except for the most important piece of information. No one will ever know that if I have it my way.

"Ready?" I asked Harper excitedly. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Fine," Harper sighed. She had learned a long time ago protesting that against my actions would be futile.

"Alright, lets do this," I said. I was practically shaking with anticipation. I pointed my wand towards the cafeteria at large.

"_Scilencio!_" I muttered. Suddenly everything got quiet. At first everyone was just confused and looked around. Then the panic set in. everyone started screaming; only, no sound came out which made them even more panicky. Chairs crashed, food flew, and students fell. A reign of terror came upon the cafeteria. Finally, after watching the chaos and confused teacher became less exciting so I let up the spell. When I did, a wave of faintness washed over me. Keeping up a spell of that magnitude was taxing, especially on that many people. If you keep up a spell too long and you pass out from it, then you're all finished. Spells were interesting beings, they had a will to live. It sounds strange, but it's true. And if you passed out in the middle of conducting a spell, then that spell would consume you until nothing was left. Too many wizards had died from that phenomenon and I was not about to become one of them.

"Done having your fun?" Harper asked impatiently. Although she put up with my random pranks and what not, she still doesn't like them; though I could've sworn I saw her laughing quietly when silence descended upon the cafeteria.

"Yeah," I said glumly. I had two study halls the last two periods after lunch on a Friday. Good? I think not.

"Why so glum?" she asked, concerned at my sudden change in mood.

"I have two study halls and my dad wants me home to help at the subshop," I quickly lied and not convincingly. Harper looked at me strangely, knowing I was hiding something.

"Are you sure that's it and not something else?" she asked. Unfortunately, Harper has the uncanny ability to find things out that that she is not supposed to know. And by the pace she was going on my case, it was only a matter of time before she found out the truth.

"You, know" she continued, "I have an aunt who is in law enforcement, here's her card if you ever need it." She handed me a white card with fancy gold lettering. As I stuffed the card in my pack I knew it would be thrown away as soon as I got home. It was too much of a risk to keep, if my Dad ever went through my stuff (which he so often does), then I'd be screwed, literally.

"Harper, stop giving advice on things you know nothing about." I could see her wince at the tone of my voice. I know it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but everything she just told me was like a skipping CD playing in my head. It's not that I've never thought about doing just that. God knows I have the power to. But I knew deep down inside that the only way I would ever escape him and her was to kill them both. And no matter what twisted, sick crap they threw at me, I knew I would never be able to bring myself to hurt either of them. _Because you're scared of them,_ I heard my little voice say. No, I'm not; I just don't want to hurt them, because I'm not like them, I don't hurt people. _No, you're afraid of what they'll do to you if you can't bring yourself to finish the job. So you'd rather not try. _Shut up!

"Alex?" Harper asked; disconcerted by my distant look I probably had plastered to my face.

"Sorry, I was just… thinking."

"Alex," she said continuing. _God, she was persistent._

"Harper I know, okay? I gotta go," I said and left to go to the office to sign myself out. I felt bad about snapping at her. She's just trying to help. But sometimes she can really get under my skin. After I signed myself out I left to go home, if you can even call it that.

I finally came to the substation on Waverly Place. I took a deep breath then entered with another customer. I looked around, trying to find dad, but I didn't see him. Instead I saw mom surveying the going ons of the sub station, making sure no one gypped them or anything, I guess. I walked up to her slowly. Most of you are probably asking, "Why don't you tell your mom?" Well my naïve readers, I _would_ if she didn't already know about it. Sometimes she even joins in on the punishments dad gives to Max and I.

"Mom?" I asked tentatively. She turned to me with a look of disdain. I flinched a little, half expecting her to yell.

"What," she said, irritated.

"Where's dad?" My dad had asked me to "check in" with him once I got home. I was obviously in no rush to do so, but whatever he was going to do to me would be ten times worse if I weren't to follow his orders.

"Up stairs in the living area," she said. I shook my head sadly as I watched her walk behind the register. I don't really question how or why parents could be so cold and harsh to their children anymore, I stopped that a long time ago. After she reached the ground floor I finished climbing the stairs to go find my dad.

By the time I reached the living area, I could barely stand I was shaking so badly. I saw him on the couch watching the New York Giants. They scored and he yelled in glee. I decided it was now or never so I went over to him, dropping my bag by the door.

"Dad? I'm home," I said, walking past him. I was hoping him to be too engrossed in his game to notice me walking towards the stairs. No such luck.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" he asked, kind of angry that I would walk right by him.

"Upstairs to do my homework," I said, stating the obvious. He looked towards the door then back at me.

"No, you're not. You're back pack is still by the door," he said. _Shit,_ I thought, _how could I have been so careless? I'm always careful._ He looked at me for a second then said, "Come sit next to me." I wearily walked over and sat down a few feet away from him. But of course that wasn't good enough for him.

"Closer," he practically growled. I edged closer to him keeping my eyes on the TV the whole time. I guess I was still moving too slow for him because he pulled me closer wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I tried to ignore him and watched the TV.

Apparently this time he just wanted to see me to squirm at his touch because after a while he let me go having had his fun.

"Good girl," he said while stroking my head. _Don't touch me, don't touch me,_ I pleaded inside my head.

"Go do your homework now," he said. I quickly got up from the couch, grabbed my backpack, and raced up the stairs.

I ran into my room, slamming my door behind me. I slowly slid down, coming to a crouching position. _It's okay, Alex, _I thought_. He can't get you in here; you're fine._ That one thought calmed me down enough to stand up and walk over to my desk. I took out my school books and started my homework.

But I couldn't concentrate, unwelcome images started flooding my mind.

_Me lying on the floor in a bloody mess, mom and dad standing over me._

_Me lying on the bed, sobbing, while my father walks out of my room._

_Max, being beaten to a pulp by Mom._

_Max, cutting himself on the bathroom floor._

_Me, standing in a room full of Dad's drunk friends._

_Justin, standing by while our parents hurt Max and I._

"No, stop it," I groaned, putting my head in my hands. But the images just flashed by faster.

_My dad cutting into my back._

_Justin, ignoring the fact that Max was crying in the background._

_My mom yelling at me in one of her drunken rages._

_Me cowering on the floor in front of my father._

"Stop it! I fucking hate him!" I screamed, slamming both fists down onto my desk. I was too distraught to realize I wasn't keeping my power in check. Next thing I knew I was sitting in front of air, my desk in shambles on the floor. I stared at it dumbfounded. It took me a second to realize that I had done that. But it felt so _good_. I stood up and threw my chair against the wall; it shattered on impact; I guess I had been packing a little more punch with my anger. The good feeling started spreading throughout my body, begging me to do more. I thought maybe I shouldn't, but when more images started flickering through my head, I snapped.

"I. Hate. Him. So. _Much!_" I screeched. Every syllable was punctuated with a shockwave courtesy of _moi._ By the time of the last whockwave, there was not a scrap of anything recognizable left. I sunk to the floor and bawled my eyes out. I hated that man and for what he did to me. He took _everything_ from me and he didn't give a crap about it either. No feeling of remorse what so ever. I may appear to be put together on the outside, but on the inside, I was falling apart. Everyday I got closer to that one important word: insanity. For years I've been battling that one word, but I was about ready to give up.

I no longer cared about anything; nothing mattered anymore.

**Max's POV**

_Five, four, three, two, one! Yes,_ I thought, _schools out!_ I quickly packed up my things and headed for the door like a bull that had seen matador's red flag. I headed over towards where Alex's locker was when I passed Harper in the hallway.

"Max," called a voice. I turned around to look for the source of the sound. I saw Harper making her way over to me.

"Yeah?" I asked, anxious to find Alex.

"Alex went home early," she informed me. _What? Why?_

"Why? Is everything alright?" I was hoping she was just playing a trick, but something told my differently. Maybe it was her voice, or the look on her face.

"Um… your dad wanted her home early because she had two study halls. He said he wanted her to help out in the subshop." Harper told me. "I just thought I'd let you know."

"Oh, no," I groaned. _No, no, no! This can't happen! Not again!_ I quickly ran towards the door yelling over my shoulder, "Thanks, Harper! See you Monday!" And with that I ran towards home._Please let her be okay, please?_

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**Sorry I didn't update sooner! I'm making a promise this time to update not this Sunday but next Sunday.**

** So, like it, love it, hate it? Tell me! Read and Review, they make me all warm and fuzzy inside! Okay... that sounded a little weird, just ignore that last comment. But R&R please!**


	4. Decisions

**So, here's the next chapter to The Power Within. Sorry it's a little short, but there was some stuff that I need to decide to put in or not and it would have gone into this chapter. But I wanted to update when I said I would so here you go! Enjoy. **

**I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place or it's characters blah, blah, blah.**

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I ran into the sub shop almost tripping a customer who was on her way out.

"Sorry!" I apologized, and then continued my stampede to get upstairs. I reached the living area to find dad happily seated in front of the TV. "Where's Alex?" I asked him. I was somewhat relieved that I didn't find her on the floor.

"She went upstairs after I was done with her," he told me. My body grew stiff at that.

"What," I started, my voice very tense, "did you do to her?" He got up with a frown on his face and walked over to me. I backed up a step, not wanting to get too close to him. Not far enough. His hand shot out and slapped me on the face. I felt something dig into my skin and saw on his hand that his ring was bloodied.

"You _don't_ talk to me like that," he warned. "Go ask her yourself, she's up in her room." I gave him a look then ran upstairs to Alex's room. I reached out and opened the door to be greeted by the sound of crying.

"Alex?" I asked. "Are you there?" I opened the door further to see Alex sitting with her back against the wall crying. I quickly ran over to her and put my hand on her shoulder but she flinched away. That's when I noticed her room. Everything was in smithereens, it's like a fine layer of dust had settled, replacing the furniture. I was horrified at what might have happened.

Alex never cried in front of me except for once. The only time she had ever broken down in front of me is after the first time Dad raped her. But she was 14 then, not as strong as she is now three years later.

**Alex's POV**

I felt a hand on my shoulder and pulled away. I didn't want to be touched right now, not by anyone.

"Alex?" I dimly heard Max say. Unfortunately, instead of his voice comforting me it made me cry even harder. For three years I had managed not to break down in front of him, and now he was seeing one of the worst ones yet. I hated when anyone saw me cry. It made me look weak, and I was _not_ weak, not yet anyway. I knew the day that I would just lose my will to do anything was coming soon, and I dreaded that day. _But it wasn't here yet,_ I told myself.

"Alex," I heard again. This time I looked up into Max's eyes. They were kind and full of concern.

I sniffled then said, "Yeah?" I asked, giving him a tentative smile. He smiled back at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Well, I was definitely not okay, but I didn't want to burden him with that knowledge. Though he probably already knew that, asking was just a formality. Max was not as stupid as he let on. In actuality he was incredibly smart, his act was a tactic he had developed long ago to survive in this household. And I must say, it worked well. For the most part he was ignored, except for when he deliberately made them mad to draw their attention away from me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him starting to get up though I could tell he didn't buy it.

"Here, let me help," he said, reaching for my arm.

"No, I'm fine," I told him. He reluctantly backed off while I slowly stood up. It was only then that I took in the full extent of the damage I had dealt.

"Wow," I said, "I really did it this time." My room was a mess. All of my furniture was gone replaced by an inch of dust.

"_You_ did this?" Max asked incredulously. I shrugged my shoulders and muttered a spell. In a flash my room was just as it was before. As and added bonus my homework sat completed on my desk.

Max looked around the room like he was in the Ritz. "Alex," he asked, "how did you do that?" _God, Alex!_ I thought. _Why are you being so careless today?_

"Um… I don't know?" I said. He was about to say something more but was interrupted.

"Max!" I heard my dad shout. I looked over to where max was standing, fear flooding his face.

"What did you do?" I whispered to him.

"Told him off…" he whispered guiltily. I let out a sigh then started pushing him towards my wall.

"Alex? What are you doing?" he asked, panicked that I was going to slam him into the wall.

"Saving your ass! Now stop struggling!" And with one final push he went through the wall, just in time too because right at that moment Dad strolled into my room.

"Where's your brother?" he asked me.

"I-I don't know," I stuttered. I shrunk back from him, not wanting him to beat me for not giving him a satisfying answer. He glared at me.

"Where's your brother?" he repeated. He took a step forward to which I responded by taking another step back.

"I told you," I said, getting a little bolder, "I don't know where he is."

It looked like he was going to say more about the matter but instead settled for, "If I find out your lying to me… well, lets just say, I'm having a get together with my buddies tomorrow and you know how much they love you," he said with a sadistic smile. The mental image he gave made me want to puke. I hated those parties and he knew it.

After I closed the door after Dad left I went to go retrieve Max from my "other" rooms. _He must be freaking out by now._

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**So, did you enjoy this kind of pointless chapter? The next one will have much more meaning to it, I promise. Also, the next one is where Justin starts to really turn bad... Dun, dun, dun...**

**Read and Review please!**


	5. Secrets Revealed

**So, here's the next part in the story. Um, the poems aren't that good in my opinion. I didn't spend a lot, a lot of time on them. Sorry if they might offend anyone in anyway. Alrighty, so read the latest addition and tell me what you think!**

**And I of course do not own Wizards of Waverly Place. If I did, the season finale would have been so much better and a little less cheesy.**

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"Max?" I called out. _Ugh, why did I hide him? It's going to take forever to find him,_ I thought. At the moment it had seemed like a good idea to push him into my private rooms, but now I was rethinking it. One, they were huge, the size of a football field at least. It had taken countless times to get the spell right, but finally I had succeeded in making my own training room. I was _not_ going to give my family the satisfaction in seeing me loose the competition. Two, Max had no idea I knew such magic, no one did. I don't even think Justin could succeed in doing what I have. I'm so far advanced in magic that I've started going into Dad's secret stash of books meant only for full wizards. What if Max decided to use this against me? If he told Dad, I don't know what he'd do to me. Nothing pleasant I'm sure.

"Alex?" I looked around quickly trying to find the source of his voice. My eyes landed on a door set aside from everything else. _No, not in there, please not in there._ I ran to the open door to find Max looking around him. The room he had found is where I kept _everything_ that happened to me on record. I mainly did that because it helped me. It helped to have all my horrors on paper or canvas. Some were paintings, others were poems, and others still were just stories. And he was seeing _everything._

"Alex?" he asked, "What is all this?" He was reading some of the poems I had just written a few days ago. He held them up and started to read them.

"Max, please," I begged him. Tears started running down my face, "Don't read them." Never the less, he started reading one.

"I have tears running down my face,

Like a waterfall cascading onto ice,

He beats me, he rapes me,

And does it with glee,

Why oh why can't you send help,

While I'm being felt,

By the man I call father,

He's more like a fucking bother,

Always acting like we're on a date.

It's up for debate,

Whether I should leave or stay,

But I tell you I will never stray,

From the path set before,

Or I will be no more." He finished the poem. He was crying as well. I started walking toward him to take the other poems that were in his hands. He was reading my personal thoughts, thoughts that no one but me was supposed to read.

"No!" he yelled and pulled the poems out of reach. "I'm going to read them."

"Max," I pleaded, "Please stop!" But he ignored me and continued to read the next one in the stack.

"I can understand those, but this next one?" he said, shaking his head a little. I looked up at him while he started reading my latest poem.

"Why do I feel this way, God?

I find it odd,

That I have all these conflicting emotions,

And these ridiculous notions.

Odd in the way,

That Todd?

He never feels this way,

But I do every day.

Tell me why,

I feel the need to die."

He looked at me, astonished that I would ever think that way. "How could you think like that, Alex?" he yelled. I flinched at how loud his voice was. "You can't die! If I loose you I wouldn't have anyone!" he continued bellowing. I looked away, not being able to meet his eyes.

"You weren't supposed to read those," I said quietly. I stood up and took the poems back. This time he let me.

"Oh, I see. I was supposed to find your dead body one morning, was that it?" he asked, still infuriated that I would even _think_ about suicide.

"Listen!" I shouted, shocking him into silence. "You don't know _half_ the crap I go through!" I could tell he was shocked by how loud my voice.

"Alex," he started. I could tell he was sorry, he really was; but I wasn't done yet.

"You don't know that everyday I get one step closer to insanity," I said quietly. "You get beaten and cut, but do you know what it's like not to have control over your own body? For your father to turn it into this malleable object that he does with it whatever he pleases? I didn't think so."

"Alex, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you so upset. And yes, it's true; I don't know what it's like. But I do know what it's like to feel so much emotional pain that I have to hurt myself to make it go away. You're not the only one hurting, Alex. I can help you if you ever need it. Just, don't kill yourself. I don't know what I'd do without you."

I ignored him and walked out of the studio into the training room. He followed me, disappointed that he didn't get a concrete answer.

**Justin's POV**

I saw Dad walk out of Alex's room closely followed by her closing her door. _Oh, no_, I thought. Just because I didn't do anything about doesn't mean I didn't hate when he violated my little sister. I still cared about her a lot, but she doesn't know that. So I set course for her door. When I reached it I opened it slowly so as not to startle her. But when I opened the door I saw nothing. _What the… where is she?_ I thought. But I heard voices so they must be in here _somewhere_. It sounded as if they were coming from the wall opposite from where I was standing. I walked over to it. _Yep, they're definitely coming from here._

I went to rest my head on the wall to better here them, but my head went right through it. I fell through and did a face plant on some gravel. _What the hell?_

_Where am I?_ I looked around me to see a grassy glade with various brooks and trees dotted throughout. All the way in the back was this old stone type structure with several bookshelves and stone benches. It was amazing, beautiful, and gorgeous. I started walking over to it when I heard Alex and Max's voices. _Shit!_ I quickly looked around me to find a bush a few feet over and I quickly dodged behind it. I hoped she didn't see me but I couldn't be sure. I knew she would never forgive for invading her personal space like this since she didn't entirely trust me in the first place. _Please don't see me, please don't let her see me_, I said over and over in my head.

**Alex's POV**

I walked into the training area, but stopped short when I saw a bush sway. I knew there was wind, but it's not like there was a hurricane in here._ That's odd,_ I thought, frowning. I started walking over to it. I had no idea what the consequences would be if anyone in this family found out I had a place like this to call my own.

"Alex?" I heard Max ask from behind me. I wanted to ignore him and investigate further, but I decided that Max needed my attention more than the bush. Little did I know, this would come to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

"Yeah?" I knew what he was going to ask but decided to humor him.

"What _is_ this place?" he asked in awe. I gave him a mischievous smile.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that." I said, walking over to a particularly plush area of grass and falling back into it.

"This," I said, moving my arms into an arc to encompass the entire room, "is my training area." I couldn't but help laugh at his expression; it was a mash up between a goofy smile and a look of awe.

"Okay…" he said, "But how did it get here?"

"Do you want the truth or do you want me to tell you something a little less incriminating if you were to ever tell Dad?" I asked him. It's not that I didn't trust him, but sometimes he talked to himself and he's said things that have gotten me in trouble before. He thought about it for a second.

"The less incriminating." He decided. Apparently he was remembering those times he had gotten me in trouble too. I gave him a brief nod then went on with my fabricated story I had created just incase Dad everfound out about this place.

"It was already here. I guess the previous owners were wizards and they forgot to remove the enchantments. I happened across it by chance and decided to move in."

"Pretty good story, just one problem, when a wizard is away from something they have created by magic, it disappears because said object doesn't have a fuel source. Where's the fuel from this coming?" he asked.

"Ah, but, the created object draws from the closest source available if its original creator is no longer available," I told him. Max frowned for a second, trying to find a hole in my story.

"Dad won't expect you to know that," he said.

"Dad won't expect me to know what you said either," I countered.

"Touché. So, are you going to give the grand tour?" he asked hopefully.

I gave him a doubtful look, "Is that such a good idea?" I've already told him too much; I didn't want to risk him slipping, "Dad, Alex stole all of your spell books," at the dinner table.

"Aw common! You can't just show me something like this and not show me around!" he complained.

"I didn't _show_ you, I saved you!" I almost shouted. The heat of the argument from just moments before was returning and fast. This seemed to shock him out of his rant.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, head hanging in shame.

"It's okay," I told him, "Let's go down stairs and make dinner."

"Alright," he said as I lead him out and down stairs.

**Justin's POV**

_So,_ I thought acidly, _Alex knows magic and on top of that, she created all of this, something I couldn't even dream of doing._ I was fuming. The only reason why I had ever felt bad for Alex was because I thought she had nothing. No skill in magic, no friends, and people who beat on her all the time. But now, she had crossed the line. She was threatening my chance to win the Russo family magic. No one, threatened Justin Russo and gets away with it. All those previous feelings of feeling sorry for her? Gone. _I guess I'll just have to pay her a little visit tonight,_ I thought, giving an evil smile. _This was not going to be a good night for her._

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**So, there it is. Did you like it or love or hate it? Let me knowwwww. Only those that review will get the BEST virtual cookie they have EVER tasted. And sorry for the late update, I had a long week. And thanks to all of those people that have reviewed my story. Special thanks to duckfanatik!**


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